Veikkaus sales slide in 2022
The Finnish monopoly gambling operator has reported full-year revenue of €1.07bn.
UK.- Veikkaus has reported its financial results for 2022, noting that a “challenging operating environment” impacted revenue. The state-controlled monopoly gambling operator reported revenue of €1.07bn, down 2 per cent year-on-year. However, it matched the profits of €680m delivered to the state in 2021.
Lottery revenue slid by 4 per cent to €599m, while revenue from the Toto sports betting unit fell by 16 per cent to €123m. Online gaming revenue was stagnant at €123m. Only land-based casino revenue rose, up 7 per cent to €346m due to the full reopening of venues.
Group CFO Regina Sippel said: “Consumer behaviour in brick-and-mortar stores has not returned to the same as it was before Covid-19, which is reflected in the number of visitors to Veikkaus’ arcades. In addition, the mandatory loss limits for automatic gaming in 2021 have decreased the volume of gaming in automatic gaming. The war in Ukraine and the resulting general consumer uncertainty and decrease in purchasing power have also contributed to lower demand for Veikkaus’ games.”
Responsible gambling measures
Veikkaus has introduced a series of responsibility measures that also had an impact on its sales. Customers must complete mandatory verification to play its games. It also highlighted an increase in interventions. New rules will take things further, requiring Veikkaus to share information on customers who have potential gambling problems with national health authorities.
Veikkaus director of responsibility, Susanna Saikkonen, said: “With the help of data, we can analyse players’ gaming behaviour and the changes that occur in it in order to identify risky gaming. Using player data, we made more than 2,000 care calls to our customers during 2022.
“We want the player to stop his own playing and use the game control tools we offer, such as game limits and game bans, if necessary.”
Meanwhile, the Finnish government’s decision to change tact and consider opening Finland’s gambling market to private competition appears to have won support from across the political spectrum.
Finland remains one of Europe’s last monopoly gambling markets, with Veikkaus the only licensed operator for land-based and online gaming. However, in a change of heart, the government announced at the start of the year that it was investigating the possibility of ending the Veikkaus monopoly.
Minister of European affairs and ownership steering Tytti Tuppurainen said the government would investigate the possibility of ending Veikkaus’s position as a monopoly operator.
